


How About A Dance?

by Taishou



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Dancing, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Ramen date basically..., Ryuji can cook!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:48:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22925155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taishou/pseuds/Taishou
Summary: Valentines gift exchange for the Ryugoro server!
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Sakamoto Ryuji
Kudos: 45





	How About A Dance?

**Author's Note:**

> Just a nice Valentine's gift for someone in the Ryugoro server! I had a crap ton of fun writing this one honestly, just soft moments are.. wonderful..

Asking someone he used to hate would reasonably be the worst decision ever in his life, yet somehow this was just… a little different.

Goro Akechi had always interested him in more ways than one. It wasn’t the fact that he could see through a façade of faces and gestures, it was more of what was inside that exterior that interested him so much. Was it the little glances he gives people who confuses him like Akira? Or when he’s near the Phantom Thieves giving them palpable looks because he  _ knows?  _ Usually that would irk Ryuji to no end, but things have changed a little since Sae-san’s palace. 

Now here is where Ryuji stood, nearby LeBlanc, staring at a phone he so desperately held. 

He asked him to come to his house.

Okay, sure, that wasn’t the  _ best  _ idea when it came to Goro Akechi, but he needed to get closer to the detective! Either he’ll rip his guts out or they actually talk about things he’ll never know, but what was important was that he had to keep himself calm if the crow didn’t want to be scared off. 

So when he got the message that Akechi accepted his request, it took a lot out of Ryuji to not jump in the air with glee. 

Why  _ would  _ he message him? 

Well, there was more to it than just flat out messaging him, it was more because he wanted to see a resolve in the detective. Just like Akira, he had been interested in him ever since the first time they met at the studio, where he said something about “delicious pancakes.” It still makes him chuckle to this day that he eavesdropped on their conversation and decided to pipe up about a delicacy. 

Ah, whatever, it’s not like it was important anymore. He just had to be nice to Akechi and Akechi will be nice to him, and that’s as simple as it gets. 

~~

That was a lie. That was a  _ very  _ big lie. 

There he was, clad in his normal blue sweater vest and khakis, hands empty of his normal gloves and just as pale as the rest of him. Goro Akechi was right in his doorway. 

Underneath a polite smile, Ryuji did all he could to keep himself under control. This was the first time he’s ever really had someone over in.. at least ten years. The last time he had any sleepovers was when he was in elementary school. Of course this was different! He was older, and this person wasn’t.. Exactly someone he liked. 

“Hey dude, uh.. Welcome.” He mentally slapped himself in the face at the stupid greeting, which he got in return was a well earned eyebrow raise. He deserved that dumb look. 

It quickly devolves into his normal grin and Akechi waves him off, letting a hand rest on his hip. “Hello. I didn’t expect to get a message from you about coming over. I was interested in what would result in you doing that.”

“Well,” He shrugs, carefully thinking about his words. If he made one wrong move he’d be causing a threat to the Phantom Thieves. “I just wanted to meet ya. No harm in that, yeah?” 

Akechi simply nods, taking a look around Ryuji. “May I come in?”

“Right! Right. Yeah, totally.” He swerved the door and stepped to the side, inviting him in quickly before shutting the door as soon as his feet hit the floor. “This is my home. Uh… make yourself at home?”

The brunette was already toeing off his shoes. That’s a way to start, he presumes. 

“This is a rather quaint apartment.” He lightly murmurs, looking all around the space. It’s not shabby but it isn’t exactly the prettiest either, with old-painted walls and counters glistening in the moonlight. The kitchen was the smallest area, with the island in the middle taking up most of the walking space for whenever he or his Ma would have to make dinner. It’s not exactly the easiest way to cook or bake, but he honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. 

A difference with the living room and the kitchen was that it all looked older than it should have been. There were still DVDs and VHSs on a drawer, all collecting dust despite their use. The TV was much newer however, a nice flat screen that both his Ma and himself pitched in to get; he remembers when he had to mow so many lawns just to get by. 

“Very quaint.” 

Oh shit, he completely forgot about Akechi while he was internally monologuing. That’s a way to start a night, huh? “Heh, yeah. You can sit on the couch, I’m gonna make something to eat. You like ramen?” 

“I will eat anything, thank you.” 

That wasn’t the response he wanted but hey, he’ll take it. He paces out of the living and into the kitchen, picking out pots and pans they needed for the box ramen that he’d use when he was just too lazy to do anything else. Add a few spices, make something new, it was just the normal thing for him. 

Thirty minutes of silence however, he turned around to see Akechi right beside him as he stirred the pot. He nearly jumped out of his skin, yelping loudly and letting go of the spoon he had been using. “Holy shit! Dude!” 

In response to his outburst, Akechi muffles his laughter into his hand. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to see what that smell was.” 

“Oh. It’s just box ramen.” 

He regains his composure and goes back to fixing up the noodles, unnerved by how close the other was to him. His thighs were only an inch away from his, and the taller boy’s shoulders could practically knock him out if he turned fast enough. 

Said boy tilts his head, his eyes widening just a smidget. “Box ramen?” 

“Yeah, dude. Ever had it?” 

“Of course I have. I’m just.. Surprised it smells good compared to the normal plastic smell you would usually get.” 

Ryuji grins at the hidden compliment, unceremoniously hip checking him. “That’s cause I added my own spices~” 

“You can cook?”

He purses his lips and crosses his arms, raising a brow at Akechi who just smiles in response. Huh, isn’t it a little softer? 

“Course I can! You think I can’t help myself?”

“I didn’t say that, Sakamoto.” 

“That’s what it sounded like to me.”

“My apologies, then.” 

The soft smile is easily replaced with another forced one, leaving Ryuji a little disappointed. And just when he thought he was getting through to him! “Anyway, it’ll be done in about five minutes. You can sit at the table or we can go to the living room, that’s your choice.” 

Akechi furrows his brows from the corner of Ryuji’s peripheral vision and it causes him to twist his head back at him. “..What?”

“My choice?”

Ryuji furrows his brows right back at him, knitted delicately on his forehead. “Well, yeah. You’re the guest, it’s only polite.” 

“Ah, right.” He glances away from his own brown gaze and instead tapped his finger on the counter. “I’d like to sit in the kitchen, thank you.” 

If it was anyone else he’d guffaw at the outrageous statement and practically drag him to the couch, but this was Goro Akechi he was with, not Akira, Ann, or even Yusuke. Still, he did give him a studying look anyway, before he shrugs and scoops up a serving amount of noodles for himself. “Okay. How much did ya want?” 

“Just as much as you’re having is fine.” Akechi finally turns away from him and walks away to head to the table. He won’t say about how chilly it felt without him by his side, or the way his cheeks began to puff out in a pout.. It was nice to feel someone close to him like that that wasn’t his mother. 

When he gets just as much as he gave himself, Ryuji heads to the table and sets the warm bowl of ramen on its oak surface, next to Akechi. “Chopsticks?” 

“Yes please, thank you.” There’s that soft smile again. It did something in his gut, whether it was something like envy or..  _ That,  _ he couldn’t tell. He just gave him a toothy grin back and brought out the cheap plastic chopsticks they had bought years ago. 

Once he finally sat down, on the opposite side of the table, he took the first bite and hummed quietly at the spices that ran through his mouth. He’ll always have a specialty for making something so bland as box ramen and making it come out as an amazing food that some restaurants would have to bow down to him for. But it really wasn’t his say that made him nervous; it was Akechi’s.

He was inspecting it like it was some sort of murder case, a hand placed on his chin as he twirled the broth with the chopsticks. He then poked the noodles, the extra bits of food that Ryuji added, and then finally started to pull the noodles out of captivity. 

It took a lot to not stare intently at Akechi’s face as he took his first bite, slurping them down.. Before his eyes widened significantly. 

“ _ This  _ is box ramen?” 

A warmth of pride flooded every part of his body and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Wait, why did he want Akechi to like his food? It wasn’t like he was his friend. “Yeah dude. I added some spices and stuff so it’s not like a crazy talent or whatever.. Trust me, I can give you the spices in the cabinet.” 

“No, I’m fine with this.” His eyes were sparkling with something Ryuji didn’t know, intriguing him and leaning forward the table as he watched him take another bite, then another, another, and--

Akechi was scarfing down on his noodles like a madman. 

“Woah, hey dude!” Ryuji laughed as he stood up, his chair offering a horrid squeal in the process, and drags the bowl away before he could take another bite. “Don’t choke yourself!”

There was still a surplus amount of noodles still in his mouth, some of it sticking out from his lips and giving Akechi an almost childish look to him. He looked like he hadn’t eaten at all today! It was like, what, six? He should have at least had lunch! 

It takes a moment for the brunette to swallow down his ramen and politely waves him off with an embarrassed laugh-- and it sounded so  _ real  _ this time. “I apologize.. I haven’t eaten today.” 

“Dude, what-” Screw that! He’s gonna give Akechi as much food as he wanted damn it! “People should be eating lunch and dinner, you’re an idiot for not doing that!”

“I was busy. Besides, why would you worry?” There’s a tinge of a competition in his voice and if Ryuji was any better at his attitude then he would’ve ignored it. 

This was Ryuji we’re talking about here. He did the opposite of that. 

“Because I like to see people healthy, damn it. First Yusuke and now you, jeez what is it about workaholics never eating?” 

He’s met with a silent stare, which he takes as a win as he picks up his empty bowl and stores it into the sink. He’ll have to wash them later. “Food is important, yo. Super important, and like.. Jeez, you guys work yourself too much!” 

Two minutes pass them by, and that victory sours into concern the more he sits in the silence. Was he okay? He didn’t say anything wrong, yeah? He didn’t  _ think  _ he did, but he always spoke before he thought; he’s always been a blabbermouth and that wasn’t gonna change any time soon. 

Finally though, he hears the boy clear his throat and continue eating, though it’s much slower and cautious. “Thank you for the concern. But I’ll be okay.”

Okay his ass. He just watches him eat the rest of his noodles and washes whatever dishes were in the sink before his Ma came home the next morning. He knows how people are when they don’t eat enough food. He’s done it before! So that isn’t gonna stop him this time around. 

Screw all the issues with the Phantom Thieves, he’s gonna give this guy some good effin’ food. 

~~

Fifteen minutes had passed, and Akechi was  _ still  _ eating his food. Good lord, was he being so needlessly slow? It’s not like he did something stupidly crazy, but, he did go wild on his ramen.. 

Ryuji had been in the living room waiting for the guy to finish, but his impatience was getting the best of him at this point. “Dude, are you done yet?” 

He hears a shuffling, then a quiet laugh that echoes throughout the house. “I have been. Why? Is that all we were going to do today?” And with that, he hears the chair squeak, a couple of steps, and there Akechi was, peeking from the doorway to gaze at him. 

No, his heart didn’t begin to race when he saw those innocent eyes.

“N-no, actually, I just don’t know wh at to do and was wondering if you had an idea.” He mumbles, throwing the few thoughts he had about watching a dumb movie out the window; that’s too.. Romancy. 

The boy habitually places his hand on his chin and hums quietly, the furrowed brow of thinking creasing against his features. Now was a good time for Ryuji to look at the guy a little more. 

Goro Akechi always had a bit of a baby face with slight angles, but looking at him more than before, he just.. Had a sudden shift in some popular rich and became a rebellious un-eating teenager in his mind. His eyes sparkled, his lips were pursed, hell, even his nose had begun to scrunch up as he pondered on what to do for the rest of the night. Was there a scar on the bridge? Huh, kinda cute. Kissable. 

As soon as the thought processes and flits away, he turns away to quickly focus on something else a little more interesting than Akechi. Curse being in his home and only knowing literally the entire house by heart. 

“Would you like to dance?” 

Ryuji’s whole world stops with that question, eyes widening in a guffawed state.  _ Dance?  _ What would Akechi want to do with him involving dancing? He’s always been a heavystepper, and the injury didn’t help him at all. Why was he bringing it up anyway?

“Sorry dude, I’m not really a dancer.” He does what he can to devoid the question, swallowing down his embarrassment of potentially dancing with the devil. 

Before he knew it, his hand was grasped in soft ones, pulling him up with a toothy smile that.. Threw Ryuji quickly off guard and made him step forward. The ladder just laughs at his idiocy, bringing his palm to rest on the other’s shoulder and swaying to the side. “Just relax. I can show you how.” 

He was stuttering so badly as he was brought into a rhythm, stepping on Akechi’s toes and fumbling with his sweater vest that got caught in his fingers over and over again. Akechi may have known what he was doing, but he certainly did  _ not! _ He swore he was going to fall at any given moment!

But the gentle hands that wrap around his waist make him slow down, swallowing thickly at the new pressure that was added against him. It was cold, but filled with so much warmth it radiated throughout his skin, leaving him at a loss for words as Akechi lightly bounced to the other side of the living room. 

He was so focused.. All Ryuji could do was stare at the other’s small pout as he danced, and if Ryuji could think straight, he’d call this.. Romantic. Romantic? 

Akechi presses his forehead against his and he shudders at the touch. Definitely romantic. 

“U-uh-” Screw his mind for faltering when he needed it most. “You’re really good at dancing.” 

The brunette just smiles at the compliment, swaying his hips and catching the attention of the blond easily. It was so simple, he could take a step back and he’d focus on his thighs, he’d twist his torso and he’d go straight to his chest, it got so simple to enrapture him, like Ryuji had been wrapped around his finger this entire time. 

He was getting so bothered by the fact he was starting to see Akechi as  _ attractive.  _

The increase of speed causes him to step on his foot, followed behind with a hiss that made Ryuji wince and murmur a quick apology. He told him he wasn’t good at dancing! So why was he still dancing with him!? Was it because Ryuji was so enchanted by the way his body moved? Why did he keep moving like that? His hands were still on his waist, but Ryuji  _ knew  _ that that wasn’t what mattered right now. 

He could feel his eyes burning his skull. 

“You got something to say, Akechi?” He murmurs, hesitant despite the snarky attitude. He was going to lose his mind if he didn’t say anything else. “Over here dancing with me like it’s no big deal. Like it’s not important that your  _ hands  _ are on my waist.”

“Oh,” He just simply laughs, his grip loosening as they twirled around together in the living room floor. “I didn’t notice they were there. Do you mind if I keep them there..?” 

Either Ryuji was hearing things, or Goro Akechi was hesitant to ask a question that outright. But good lord did it make him turn a nice shade of red, instantly throwing his head up to see an equally red face back at him. He was embarrassed? No way. 

A smirk instantly graces Ryuji’s features, stopping their little dance and grabbing hold of the hands that held him softly. He picks them up, taking a look at them, before setting them back on his waist. With that, his own hands come to put his face into his palms, and he had never felt something that would spark so much.. Warmth in his body. 

Akechi’s face was searing hot, cheeks a rosy red and eyes wide that glowed a beautiful ruby red as his mouth parted. Was he going to say something? If he was, Ryuji had to brace himself. 

“So…” The older boy clears his throat, before continuing with a more confident tone. “So, how about a dance? A true one.” The smile that he’s giving causes him to squint. Sunlight could never top this smile he was staring at. 

“Y-yeah.. Let’s dance.” 

Ryuji hadn’t realized how quickly he wanted to see that red face again.


End file.
